I’ve been considering using this set of pictures in a post for a while now. With one of them being used for this week’s FFfAWs prompt, I thought It was about time I shared them all.

These pictures were taken last summer at the Castlerigg stone circle in Cumbrian Lake District in the UK.

The circle was constructed in approximately 3200BC – the late neolithic / early bronze age – by the people migrating into the northern hills. Its exact purpose is unknown, although a number of theories have been expressed over the years, from a ritual space to a market place.

Tradition states that it is impossible to count the number of stones in the circle. Some say that there are only 38. The count sometimes goes as high as 42. It is now argued that this is because there were smaller packing stones around the base of some of the larger stones that over the centuries have become displaced. The number you count depends on whether or not you’ve included any of the packing stones.

Another odd story is that when William Stukely visited the site in 1725 he described the stone circle we see today in perfect detail and then went on to say that ‘There seemed to be another larger circle in the next pasture toward the town.’ (Stukeley 1969 Vol. II, 48). No evidence of this second circle has ever been found.

This post is also for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Inspiration – and, yes, I know it’s a little late!

Ancient places have always inspired me to stories. I can’t help but wonder about all the lives that have been lived, all the people and the tales they could tell. With a major part of the novel I’m working on being set in neolithic England, a neolithic site such as Castlerigg is doubly inspirational.

If you’d like to know more about Castlerigg stone circle you can go here.

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Published by Louise Bunting

Louise is a writer, poet and photographer who feels most at home when out and about, watching, photographing, and writing about the flora and fauna to be found along the lanes and in the meadows of her local area. She can happily spend hours lost in a field full of wildflowers.
View all posts by Louise Bunting

What a coincidence, I was at Lake District just a few months ago! My parents and I visited the stone circle, but the tour guide didn’t tell us about it in much detail, so your post was very interesting to read. 🙂

If there’s a prehistoric (or even just historic) site in an area I’m visiting I’ll make my way to it! Stone circles are my favourites and I hope you manage to see some someday. 🙂 I’m hoping to visit the Carnac Stones in France in the next year or two – now they’re an impressive sight!

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